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Published by the
Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese,
June 30, 2005
SCOBA
Hierarchs Convene For Spring Session |
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June 30, 2005
New York, NY - The Spring Session of the Standing
Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the
Americas (SCOBA) was convened on June 21, 2005 at
the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
of America in New York City. Archbishop Demetrios,
Chairman of SCOBA, chaired and hosted the session.
Other Hierarchs present were Metropolitan Herman
of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan
Christopher of the Serbian Orthodox Church,
Archbishop Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox
Archdiocese, Metropolitan Nicholas of the Carpatho-Russian
Orthodox Church, and Archbishop Antony of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Representing
Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Orthodox
Archdiocese was the V. Rev. Elias Bitar.
Also present were Bishop Dimitrios, SCOBA General
Secretary, members of the SCOBA Study and Planning
Commission and the directors of two SCOBA
agencies.
The Hierarchs endorsed a statement on the
environment entitled, "God's Earth is Sacred: An
Open Letter to Christians in the United States."
They approved proposals creating two new
commissions, the Orthodox Research Commission and
the Orthodox Information Technology Commission.
They received with gratitude a statement entitled
"Barriers Do Not Bring Freedom," which was issued
by a National Council of Churches of Christ
delegation to the Middle East.
It was determined that the SCOBA celebration of
the Sunday of Orthodoxy in 2006 will be held in
Chicago, IL, and profound thanks were extended to
the Council of Orthodox Churches in Worcester, MA,
for hosting the 2005 celebration.
The Hierarchs voted to convene in the fall of
2006, the third Conference of all Canonical
Orthodox Bishops under the SCOBA jurisdictions and
drafted a preliminary agenda for the conference.
Following lunch, the Hierarchs heard reports from
International Orthodox Christian Charities, the
Orthodox Christian Mission Center, the Task Force
on Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry, relations
with the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox
Churches, and matters concerning Military
Chaplaincy. They approved the appointment of two
new members to the ongoing Orthodox/Roman Catholic
Theological Consultation; Prof. John Barnet and
Fr. Theodore Pulcini.
The session concluded with the sharing of news
from the life of the church, and the scheduling of
the Fall Session in November at the Consistory of
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in South Bound
Brook, NJ.
The meeting began at 10:00am in the St. Paul
Archdiocesan Chapel with a memorial service for
the late Archbishop Iakovos, who served as
Chairman of SCOBA from its founding in 1960 until
his retirement in 1995. The session concluded with
prayer at 3:45pm.
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